1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to sporting games, and in particular, to basketball games utilizing a specially adapted playing board.
2. Related Art.
Various types of games played with the conventional 52 card playing deck, such as poker, draw poker, 5 card stud poker, solitaire, pinochle, etc., are well known. Also, the use of non-conventional playing card decks with corresponding games is well known. Such decks have a different number of cards and/or suits from the conventional 52 card deck.
The conventional games associated with the conventional playing card deck are extremely popular and date back hundreds of years. However, most games associated with playing card decks are non-contact and non-action. For instance, most games played with the conventional playing card deck are performed sitting at a table for hours. Thus, although the conventional playing card deck is extremely popular and well known, games played with the conventional deck lack athletic action because they are played in a seated position for hours.
However, the game of basketball is athletic and involves action. Basketball is an extremely popular contact athletic sport played all over the world. Basketball is played on a court with an inflated ball by two opposing teams each having at least one player. The object of basketball is to put a ball through an annular member, referred to as a goal or basket, secured to a backboard. One annular member is located at one end of the basketball court, while the other annular member is located at the other end. Each of the annular members have a net which extends downward from the outer rim of the annular member. The basketball is typically thrown from different locations on the basketball court.
The team with the ball is the offensive team. The offensive team advances the ball to the basket on the court which is designated as their basket by passing the ball to a teammate or by dribbling or bouncing the ball along the floor with one-hand taps. The offensive team scores by throwing the ball so that it descends through the designated basket. The team scoring the most such throws, wins the game.
The team without the ball is the defensive team. The defensive team attempts to take the ball from the offensive team by intercepting passes, blocking shots, or even by literally stealing the ball from a player with the ball. After a basket is made, the ball is awarded to the team that was previously on defense. Because of the continuous action, contact with opposing players, competition for the ball, and frequent scoring, basketball is one of the most popular spectator as well as participant sports in the world. Nevertheless, since basketball is a very fast paced and a high contact game, it requires high endurance capabilities because offense and defense is constantly changing. Consequently, young children, physically handicapped individuals, as well as individuals desiring a slower paced game, cannot play the conventional full court basketball as described above.
Therefore, what is needed is an athletic game that does not require a fast pace but still involves skill and athletic action. What is also needed is a game that allows players to exhibit offensive basketball skills without defensive interference. What is further needed is an action based sporting game that combines offensive basketball skills with the conventional playing card deck.
Whatever the merits of the above mentioned systems and methods, they do not achieve the benefits of the present invention.